The Lao intellectual community never than before has become increasingly conscious of the daily political and economic development of its country.
The lobby for democracy by the Lao people intensified as communist regimes throughout the world collapsed, yet the communist regime in Lao refuses to pave way to democracy. The fight for freedom and liberty in Lao invokes our people from all stratus of society to rise to activism. Soldiers, bureaucrats, merchants, politicians, farmers, students and the like witness the plundering of Lao's natural resources and the increasing erosion of Lao's sovereignty, cannot help but question the motive and intent of those in power. The fight takes many forms; sometimes we undertook arm struggle when peaceful protest fails; at times we confront our foes with brute force and other times we call upon the international community to maintain vigillance in keeping a close watch on human rights abuses, and the absence political freedom in Lao.
The Lao communist government faces discontent among its ranks, as well as pressure from the outside world. As communism in the Soviet Union and other eastern block countries crumbled in the beginning in the mid 1980s, Lao turned its focus onto China and Vietnam for economic aid, political guidance and military assistance. The world has called Lao a "client state" of China and "sattlelite state" of Vietnam. In order to cling to power, the communists in Lao trade the country's territory and sovereignty in exchange for material aids and mercenaries.
Never than before, the need for Lao unity is a paramount interest for the preservation of the our nation and people. In this quest for unification, the Lao intellectuals have a crucial task of working for a common purpose: the restoration of economic and political independence of Lao.
So long as Lao remains a proxy country for regional powers to flex their muscle, we cannot truly be free. The declaration of independence in July 1949 remains an empty decree as long as our country remains under the control of foreign powers.
It is, therefore, the mission of all Lao intellectuals inside and outside of Lao to:
Revive nationalist sentiment of all Lao people so as to safeguard our country, culture and people from falling prey and ploy of foreign powers
Promote political and economic independence for Lao
Promote economic development in Lao based on technology transfer, import substitution, better terms of trade, investment in infrastructure, and better education and healthcar
Re-establish democracy in Lao by whatever means possible and permissible by international legal standards
Improve the quality of life among the people of Lao through the improvement in education, equality, freedom, infrastructure, economic growth and liberty
Calling on the international community and organizations to pressure the Lao government to implement democrtic changes
Strengthen bilateral and multilateral relations with all friendly nations and advance the interests of Lao in the international scene
Integrate Lao's economy into the regional and global markets through free trade based on fair terms of trade
Restore and protect the territorial integrity of Lao through the use of diplomacy and military means, when necessary
Assure that the Lao government follow the rule of law and respect human rights without regards to race, ethnicity, creed, religion or political affiliation
For the love of our country, for the preservation of our race and for the respect of our people, all Lao people must work towards a common objective of achieving economic and political freedoms of Lao. National unity and the shared desire for liberty shall cement our bonds with one another.
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